This invention relates to radio broadcast systems and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for identifying broadcast audio program selections in FM stereo radio broadcast systems and displaying lyrics of the audio program selections.
While FM broadcast station program materials generally consist of a combination of music, news, advertising, and information programs, the interest of a large segment of the listening audience is directed to the music portion of the broadcasts. In fact, the music industry cooperates with the radio stations and encourages the broadcast of the latest album releases on the basis that most album sales are the result of audience reaction to broadcast musical selections.
One of the more frustrating aspects confronting the listener concerns deciphering the lyrics of music selections received on the radio. Often the lyrics of vocal music, from modern popular music to classical music, are difficult to understand, even after the selection is heard many times. It is sometimes possible for a listener to obtain lyrics by buying the compact disc (CD) on which the selection is included. However, many compact discs do not include printed lyrics and the listener has no way to know before buying the CD whether lyrics are included. Further, the listener must buy the whole CD on which the selection is included just to get the lyrics of the one desired selection.
Even if printed lyrics are obtained by the listener, the printed lyrics do not indicate when the individual words are sung in relation to the music contained on the CD. One way of solving this problem are video sing-along systems such as "karaoke" systems. These self-contained systems reproduce musical selections, often with the lead vocal omitted and display lyrics on video screens. These systems involve expensive equipment and require the additional purchase of special recordings of musical selection that often can be only used with the sing-along systems.
Another source of frustration is the identification of the broadcast musical selections, particularly since the stations do not employ a uniform method of identification. Some stations announce the titles of a group of selections prior to their broadcast, others announce the titles after the broadcast of such a group, while still others provide such announcements on a random basis. Rarely do the stations announce the title, artist and album information for each selection. The result is that the listener is generally unable to rapidly identify and remember a particular musical selection with sufficient accuracy to enable the subsequent purchase of the album containing that selection.
The present invention provides an apparatus and methods for storing, broadcasting, receiving and displaying lyrics of music being simultaneously broadcast, including a real time indication of when each word or phrase of the lyrics is being sung in the accompanying musical broadcast.
The present invention also provides apparatus and methods for enabling a listener to rapidly and accurately identify broadcast musical selections.
The invention also provides apparatus and methods of storing selected musical selection identification information, and for recalling such information at a later time, to facilitate the purchase of the album containing that selection.
In order to make the broadcast of the lyric and identification material commercially feasible, the invention provides apparatus and methods for receiving and storing supplemental commercial text data substantially concurrently with the reception of audio commercial messages.